Mattress Doubles as Life Raft (Aug, 1939)

I’m wondering what kind of emergency this would be good for? I suppose you could be camping somewhere when suddenly out of nowhere you get hit by a flash flood. You could all jump on your mattresses and float to safety. Or you could tow it behind your fishing boat…

Mattress Doubles as Life Raft

Taken into the wilds on fishing and boating trips, a new “unsinkable” mattress provides safety as well as comfort, for it can be used as a life raft in case of emergency. Made of kapok floss, the mattress will support four people in the water, according to its maker. Its weight of only thirty-seven pounds minimizes the load to be carried. The photograph above shows a striking demonstration of its buoyancy before interested sportsmen at a Sharon, Mass., rod and gun club.